Too High
by Sasha1215
Summary: The one event that caused Dumbledore to become who he became, and propelled Grindelwald to embrace his destiny. The start of a brothers' feud, and the end of a sister's life. The death of Ariana. Edited for factual errors.[oneshot]


**A/N: **_Edited for a few factual errors brought to my attention by Heptagon. Thanks!_

**Too High**

"_Once I rose above the noise and confusion,  
__Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion.  
__I was soaring ever higher,  
__But I flew too high."_

_"Carry on Wayward Son" by Kansas_

"Look, Ari… watch this…" a young boy twirled his wand, red sparks erupting from the end. The small blond girl in front of him giggled.

"Do it again!" she cried, clapping her hands. "Again!"

The boy grinned back at his sister, twirling the wand in the opposite direction. This time, it was a shower of blue stars that appeared in the air.

The girl clapped again, delighted. She busied herself trying to catch the stars in her pale hand, though they all popped out of existence as soon as they touched her skin.

"Abbie, make some more, more!" she cried, but the boy was no longer listening. He had sat up on his haunches, a frown marring his border-line handsome face. Ariana returned to the remaining stars, ignoring the raised voices that had caught her brother's attention.

"We found it! Finally!"

"I can't believe it-."

"We must set off at once!"

"Oh, that's unquestionable, of course. As soon as Aberforth goes back to school-."

"Must we wait?" there was a hint of frustration in the excited voice.

"Gellert, you know-."

"Of course, of course," the frustration was gone. "But still. This cannot wait long…"

"Only a few weeks of the holiday left. Then we'll be free."

Ariana didn't look up as Aberforth scrambled to his feet, wand clenched in his hand. With easy, long strides he stepped into the neighboring room. It was large, with a plush carpet and a huge fireplace complete with crackling fire. A great table at the center of the room was covered in papers, and two boys sat around it, leaning forward eagerly. They both looked up when Aberforth entered.

"Abbie," Albus grinned easily, his blue eyes sparkling into his brother's identical ones. "We did it! We finally found it! It's-."

Aberforth's frown deepened. He kept his eyes on his brother as he spoke. "It isn't possible."

Albus beamed at him. "For a while, I thought so, too. But Gellert kept me on track. And he was right."

Aberforth shook his head. "No. I mean you can't go."

Albus' eyebrows furrowed slightly, though the smile did not leave his face. If anyone had been watching Gellert, they would have seen a look of pure loathing pass over his features.

"What do you mean?"

Aberforth glanced through the doorway behind him, then, with a lowered voice, muttered, "Ariana. She's not well, Albus. You can't go dragging her wherever it is you are going, and she must stay with you. You know that."

"She'll be fine," Albus said confidently, though his blue eyes glinted with something like doubt. "I'll take care of her. _We'll_ take care of her," he added, glancing at Gellert for support.

Gellert instantly grinned back, his angelic countenance lighting up. "Of course we will. We wouldn't let anything happen to your sister… surely you know that, Aberforth."

Aberforth stared at Gellert with strong dislike before turning back to his brother. "Albus…"

The two boys stared at each other, mirrored looks upon their faces. Albus was the first to turn away, staring down at his long-fingered hands.

"It'll be fine," he said slowly, not looking up. "She'll be fine, Aberforth. I promise."

"You swore," Aberforth said, not backing down. "You swore to Father, when he was taken away. You said you'd do everything you could to take care of this family."

Albus' head shot up, eyes finally meeting Aberforth's again. "I am doing this for the family, Aberforth. Think! I'm doing this for the entire Wizarding World!"

Aberforth put his hands on his hips, staring his older brother down. "That is a lie, Albus, and you know it!"

Once again, their eyes locked. It was as if they were engaged in an intense staring contest. Once again, Albus came out the loser. Looking down, he turned to Gellert.

"Gellert..."

Gellert's round eyes widened and he stared between the brothers in shock. "You can't mean you're giving up everything… everything we've planned… for _her_. For _them_," he sputtered.

Albus seemed unable to look his friend in the eyes. "They're my family… I have to take care of them. I swore to my father I would, and to my mother...You can go on without me."

Gellert stood stalk still for a moment. Then, in an almost inaudible whisper, he said, "I can't do it alone."

Albus gave him a look of sympathy. There was nothing he could say except a repetition of "I can't."

Gellert's whole body shook So fast that his hand was just a blur, he had whipped out his wand, had it pointed at Aberforth's chest. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" he roared, his once-angelic face now a mask of anger.

Before Aberforth could move, Albus' own wand was out and pointed at his best friend. "EXPELI-!"

"NO!" screamed Gellert, waving his wand wildly between the Dumbledores. "NO!" then, he pointed the wand straight at Albus. "You must come. You must. Otherwise-."

"You'll kill me?" Albus asked, disbelief in his eyes. "You wouldn't, Gellert. I know you wouldn't."

Gellert's hand shook. "I can't do this without you. But- but if you don't come… I can't have you knowing. I can't…"

"Gellert," Albus' voice was soft, calm, even through the fear Aberforth could see in his crystal-clear eyes. "Gellert, think this through…"

Gellert's wand hand shook harder. His face crumpled. For a moment, it seemed as if he was ready to lower his wand. Then, without any notice, he swung it around to point back to Aberforth.

"All... your... fault..." he hissed through his teeth. "_CRUCIO_!"

Aberforth fell to the floor, writhing in pain. His screams seeemed to fill the room and echo off the walls.

It was clear that Albus had not expected the attack. Within seconds, his own wand was pointed straight at Gellert, whose face was a mask of pain and anger. "_EXPELLIARMUS_!"

Gellert's wand flew from his grasp and he stood stalk still, panting and staring down at Aberforth, who was scrambling to stand.

Slowly, Gellert turned to face Albus. The look on the young man's face seemed to terrify the blond youth. "Al-Albus.. I-I'm sorry. I got... carried away."

Albus did not lower his wand an inch. "Don't you dare hurt my brother again, or I swear I will kill you."

Gellert trembled for a moment, before getting a hold of himself. "I-I'm sorry," he muttered again, "I didn't mean to-."

Aberforth, who was now leaning against the wall, let out a derisive laugh.

Albus, without turning his head, spoke to his brother. "Abbie, get Ariana and go upstairs. Stay there until I get you. Understand?"

For a moment, Aberforth looked like he would refuse. Then, he started feeling his way along the way toward the doorway. He stopped midstep, and turned back to face Albus.

Albus, his wand still pointed at Gellert, turned his head a fraction of an inch, letting his eyes meet Aberforth's. He looked like he was going to say something else, but he didn't get the chance.

"_ACCIO WAND!" _Gellert sceamed, taking the second of opportunity to cause Aberforth's wand to fly out of his hand. Gellert caught it easily, pointing it straight at Albus. A bright blue flash of light erupted from the end of his wand, but stopped short of reaching Albus, who had cast a split-second shield charm non-verbally.

Aberforth stared at Gellert for a moment, horrified yet impressed. He had not known of any wizard so young who could cast wandless magic.

"Aberforth!" Albus yelled, twirling his wand so a green steam spun out of the end. "Get out of here! Now!"

Aberforth returned to his senses and once more turned to the door. However, this time, it was blocked. There was a low moan, and the entire house rumbled.

Gellert and Albus turned to the doorway, their wands still pointing at each other.

Ariana stood there, seeming larger than her small frame, filling the door. Her blond hair waved wildly around her face in imaginary wind as she let out an animalistic roar. The walls shook again. A bit of the ceiling crumbled down just left of Albus.

"Ariana!" Aberforth cried, making to approach her.

"STOP!" Albus yelled, causing Aberforth to freeze in mid-step. "Don't go near her! You might get hurt."

"She wouldn't hurt me," Aberforth said in a condescending voice. "She loves me. She-."

Ariana shrieked again. Crimson lightning bolts flew from her very skin, bouncing off the walls so that the boys had to duck to avoid being hit.

"Ariana!" Aberforth called again, begging, pleading. "Please…"

Another bit of the roof fell in, hit by a lightning bolt. More were flying from her skin every moment, now in a rainbow of colors. A yellow one set the curtains on fire. A green one melted an old silver pitched, bubbling like acid. Without thinking, the older boys lifted their wands higher.

Silently, green and gold jets of light sped through the air, headed for the little girl.

The shaking of the house caused the spells to miss their mark, each hitting a bit of the doorway, bouncing off the walls just as the lightning bolts had. The boys ducked, falling to the floor, hands over their heads.

Suddenly, the shaking stopped.

Aberforth was the first up. Ariana, once again tiny, lay crumpled in a small heap a few feet away. Aberforth fell on his knees beside her, and he felt Albus and Gellert approach behind him.

He turned his sister over, brushing hair over her eyes. She looked like she was sleeping, a tremendous difference from her turbulent expression of a few moments ago. Slowly, he lifted her arm, putting a hand against her wrist. He didn't feel anything. Panicked, he threw his head against her chest; nothing.

Aberforth roared with pain. "She's dead," he said through the tears pouring down his face. Then, he was on his feet, glaring at his brother and friend.

"WHAT SPELLS? WHAT SPELLS DID YOU CAST?" he screamed, agony ripping at his heart.

Albus wasn't listening. He had collapsed by his sister, his hands surrounding one of hers. "She can't be… she's alright… she has to be…" he kept repeating.

Aberforth turned his gaze on Gellert, whose freckles stood out darkly against his white face. "What spell?" he asked, his voice more controlled, though anger still vibrated through it.

Gellert shook his head, suddenly looking seven instead of seventeen. "I… I… it couldn't have… it wasn't…I…" A tear slid down his pale cheek. "I couldn't have killed... I'm not a... I couldn't have..."

Aberforth glared at him. "Get. Out." He whispered.

Gellert turned and fled, never looking back.

Aberforth looked down at Albus, kneeling by his feet. Ariana's head was in his lap and he was rocking her as tears spilled down his long nose.

"Do something," Aberforth ordered. "Do something. Bring her back."

Albus looked up, his face wet. "I can't, Abbie, I can't. Nobody is meant to… if I only had… but I can't, I see that now…"

"Do something," Aberforth repeated in a whisper, "Please."

Albus looked up at him with pity and regret in his eyes. "I'm sorry. So sorry."

And Aberforth turned and fled, leaving his weeping brother and dead sister on the floor.


End file.
